Do allergies trigger psoriasis?

I hate to complain about the weather (knowing how other parts of our country are experiencing much colder temperatures) but it is way too hot here for April. My thermometer had the high temperature in the mid-90s! It’s those nasty Santa Ana winds again causing record high temperatures in Southern California.

A byproduct of the rainy winter and the sunnier spring are the beautiful blossoms. While I enjoy the color and texture they bring to our neighborhood, my once dormant allergies have awakened. At first I thought I had a cold. My complaints started with a sore throat, fatigue, and sinus congestion. But as the week wore on I suspected my hay fever, which has not visited me for years, had reemerged. This whole week I have experienced burning, itchy eyes and continued sinus congestion. That generic sinus decongestant I bought at the supermarket sits unopened in the medicine cupboard. I’m taking enough medications already.

All these allergies brought up an old issue for me – do allergies affect my psoriasis? I have many food allergies (including most nuts, citrus, refined sugar, etc.), reactions to any kind of perfume, animal dander, and now hay fever. Allergies are related to the immune system (see image below), as is psoriasis, so is there a connection?

Immune System Structures

After college, my dermatologist was kind enough to help me chase the theory down. The research and literature say there is no causal connection between allergies and psoriasis. But my experience told me that if I eat certain foods I get itchy all over and my skin becomes inflamed. So with referral in hand, I eagerly made an appointment with an allergist to ask my questions. That appointment ranks as one of the most disappointing doctor experiences I have ever had. The allergist scolded me for seeing him, told me emphatically that allergies and psoriasis have no relationship, and walked out.

The results of the RAST blood test my dermatologist ordered confirmed the many allergies I experienced—most of them manifesting on my skin. To this day I am curious about allergies and psoriasis. I try to avoid certain foods and environments that I know will cause me discomfort. Certainly if something I’m allergic to causes me to become itchy, and I scratch my psoriatic sores raw, then my allergies have affected my psoriasis. But do the allergies directly cause my psoriasis to worsen? I’m still not convinced one way or another that allergies are a direct trigger – but they sure make life miserable.

Humira update:
I saw my dermatologist again last week. I told him that I would like to keep the Neoral (cyclosporine) dose at 200mg/day while keeping my other routines the same. The only change I have made is taking Humira (adalimumab) instead of Enbrel (etanercept). He’s allowing me the freedom to try my plan for a few weeks. This way, I can gauge the effectiveness of Humira by not changing too many variables.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Howard Chang

Howard Chang has lived with severe psoriasis for more than 35 years since childhood. He is a volunteer for the National Psoriasis Foundation. Howard works as a Christian spiritual advisor and is a married...read more